A GOOD APPETITE; Allowing Cocktails to Stir the Meal

By MELISSA CLARK

Published: June 13, 2012

DRINKING seasonal cocktails used to mean manhattans in the winter and gin and tonics in the summer.

Then a decade ago, mixologists started infusing the likes of lemon verbena and butternut squash into spirits, taking the notion of seasonal cocktails to a more literal level. Now, you're just as likely to encounter an heirloom tomato in the glass as on the plate.

And some restaurants have been creating tasting menus with cocktail pairings that highlight the season's best, from the aperitif through dessert, seasonal dining from coupe to nuts.

This gave me the idea to try it at home, too. I spent the past weeks letting seasonal cocktails inspire the snacks that I served with them.

I found that the rules for matching cocktails with food are a lot more lax than with wine. Really, anything goes, though the more complicated and layered the ingredients are in the glass, the more involved your accompanying hors d'oeuvres can be, and vice versa. For simpler cocktails, simple foods work best.

To greet our first warm night, my husband and I sipped Emperor's Gardens, rhubarb and gin cocktails spiked with Thai basil and seasoned rice vinegar (a condiment used to make sushi rice, flavored with sugar and salt).

Alongside, I echoed the vinegar and basil in a quick shrimp salad garnished with roasted peanuts for crunch. We ate the shrimp on cucumber rounds, but mounding them on crisp lettuce leaves would have been a slightly fancier presentation.

A few nights later, to accompany a rye- and fennel-flavored cocktail called the Golden Bowl, I whipped toasted fennel seeds and fragrant dark green fennel fronds into a velvety smooth white bean dip, which we scooped up with slivers of the bulb. One large, feathery fennel sufficed for both cocktails and dip.

An icy sherry cobbler traditionally takes advantage of whatever fruit is in season or on hand; oranges, pineapple, raspberries, what have you. One night my husband made us cobblers with amontillado sherry and ripe cherries while I saut? the cherries in butter, then plopped them on goat-cheese-smeared crostini. I can see this becoming a year-round staple, substituting whatever juicy fruit I can get.

And finally, we made El Presidente cocktails with white rum, a spirit we rarely reach for when a cocktail craving hits. But sweetened and shaded with a few drops of homemade grenadine, this sophisticated, pale pink drink is about as summery as they come. I served them with tiny lamb meatballs brushed with pomegranate molasses to highlight the grenadine.

To keep things manageable during my cocktail experiments, I opted for individual pairings, whipping up, on a given night, one cocktail and one hors d'oeuvre. It expanded my cocktail-hour repertory, a snazzy prelude to any meal.

Had I been more ambitious, or had I needed a menu for a cocktail party, all of these cocktails and snacks would have worked marvelously served together as well.

And in one instance, that night of the Emperor's Garden, our cocktail hour slid down the slippery slope straight into dinner. We found that after gorging on the tasty little shrimp, all we needed was an arugula salad and a little crusty bread and salty butter to make a meal, allowing me to shelve the pasta dish I had originally planned.

It was light, cooling and, for us, off the well-trod path of gin and tonics, which in itself is worth toasting with a nice seasonal cocktail.

1. In a large bowl, knead together the lamb, garlic, salt, orange zest and pepper until combined. Form into 1-inch meatballs. Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and brush with oil.

2. Heat the broiler. Run meatballs under the broiler until golden and just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Brush immediately with pomegranate molasses. Spear with toothpicks, sprinkle with mint and serve.

Yield: About 2 dozen meatballs, or about 8 servings.

Recipe: ; Poached Shrimp With Thai Basil and Peanuts

Kosher salt, as needed

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon peanut oil

1 teaspoon chopped Thai basil, or more as needed

1 tablespoon chopped salted, roasted peanuts

Sliced cucumber rounds, for serving.

1. Bring a small pot of salted water to a simmer. Add shrimp and cook gently until just opaque, about 2 minutes. Drain well; cool.

2. Toss cooled shrimp with vinegar, oil and basil. Toss in peanuts. Serve on top of cucumber rounds, garnished with more basil.

Yield: 2 to 2 1/2 dozen, or 8 servings.

Recipe: ; White Bean and Fennel Dip

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 15-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed

1 fat garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 fennel bulb, with fronds

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more as needed.

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the fennel seeds until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Lightly crush seeds in a mortar and pestle.